This study assesses the short-term and long-term interactions between firm performance, financial education and political instability in the case of Malaysia Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The simultaneous insertion of financial education and political instability within the study is done intentionally to inspect the effect of these two elements in one equation for the Malaysian economy. Using the bound testing methodology for cointegration and error correction models, advanced within an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) framework, we examine whether a long-run equilibrium connection survives between firm performance and the above mentioned independent variables. Using this method, we uncover evidence of a positive long-term link b

The utilization of sugarcane molasses (SCM), a byproduct of sugar refining, offers a promising bio-based alternative to conventional chemical admixtures in cementitious systems. This study investigates the effects of SCM at five dosage levels, 0.25%, 0.50%, 0.75%, 1.00%, and 1.25% by weight of cement, on cement mortar performance across fresh, mechanical, thermal, durability, and density criteria. A comprehensive experimental methodology was employed, including flow table testing, compressive strength (7, 14, and 28 days) and flexural strength measurements, embedded thermal sensors for real-time hydration monitoring, water absorption and chloride ion penetration tests, as well as 28-day density determination. Results revealed clear

Photocatalytic materials are being investigated as effective bactericides due to their superior ability to inactivate a broad range of dangerous microbes. In this study, the following two types of bacteria were employed for bactericidal purposes: Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). The shape, crystal structure, element percentage, and optical properties of Ag9(SiO4)2NO3 were examined after it was successfully synthesized by a standard mixing and grinding processing route. Bactericidal efficiency was recorded at 100% by the following two types of light sources: solar and simulated light, with initial photocatalyst concentration of 2 µg/mL, and 97% and 95% of bactericidal acti

major goal of the next-generation wireless communication systems is the development of a reliable high-speed wireless communication system that supports high user mobility. They must focus on increasing the link throughput and the network capacity. In this paper a novel, spectral efficient system is proposed for generating and transmitting twodimensional (2-D) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols through 2- D inter-symbol interference (ISI) channel. Instead of conventional data mapping techniques, discrete finite Radon transform (FRAT) is used as a data mapping technique due to the increased orthogonality offered. As a result, the proposed structure gives a significant improvement in bit error rate (BER) performance. Th

Tchebichef polynomials (TPs) play a crucial role in various fields of mathematics and applied sciences, including numerical analysis, image and signal processing, and computer vision. This is due to the unique properties of the TPs and their remarkable performance. Nowadays, the demand for high-quality images (2D signals) is increasing and is expected to continue growing. The processing of these signals requires the generation of accurate and fast polynomials. The existing algorithms generate the TPs sequentially, and this is considered as computationally costly for high-order and larger-sized polynomials. To this end, we present a new efficient solution to overcome the limitation of sequential algorithms. The presented algorithm us

The migration from IPv4 to IPv6 can not be achieved in a brief period, thus both protocols co-exist at certain years. IETF Next Generation Transition Working Group (NGtrans) developed IPv4/IPv6 transition mechanisms. Since Iraq infrastructure, including universities, companies and institutions still use IPv4 protocol only. This research article tries to highlight, discuss a required transition roadmap and extend the local knowledge and practice on IPv6. Also, it introduces a prototype model using Packet tracer (network simulator) deployed for the design and implementation of IPv6 migration. Finally, it compares and evaluates the performance of IPv6, IPv4 and dual stack using OPNET based on QoS metrics such as throughput, delay and point to

In digital images, protecting sensitive visual information against unauthorized access is considered a critical issue; robust encryption methods are the best solution to preserve such information. This paper introduces a model designed to enhance the performance of the Tiny Encryption Algorithm (TEA) in encrypting images. Two approaches have been suggested for the image cipher process as a preprocessing step before applying the Tiny Encryption Algorithm (TEA). The step mentioned earlier aims to de-correlate and weaken adjacent pixel values as a preparation process before the encryption process. The first approach suggests an Affine transformation for image encryption at two layers, utilizing two different key sets for each layer. Th

This work presents a comparison between the Convolutional Encoding CE, Parallel Turbo code and Low density Parity Check (LDPC) coding schemes with a MultiUser Single Output MUSO Multi-Carrier Code Division Multiple Access (MC-CDMA) system over multipath fading channels. The decoding technique used in the simulation was iterative decoding since it gives maximum efficiency at higher iterations. Modulation schemes used is Quadrature Amplitude Modulation QAM. An 8 pilot carrier were
used to compensate channel effect with Least Square Estimation method. The channel model used is Long Term Evolution (LTE) channel with Technical Specification TS 25.101v2.10 and 5 MHz bandwidth bandwidth including the channels of indoor to outdoor/ pedestrian

In modern hydraulic control systems, the trend in hydraulic power applications is to improve efficiency and performance. “Proportional valve” is generally applied to pressure, flow and directional-control valves which continuously convert a variable input signal into a smooth and proportional hydraulic output signal. It creates a variable resistance (orifice) upstream and downstream of a hydraulic actuator, and is meter in/meter out circuit and hence pressure drop, and power losses are inevitable. If velocity (position) feedback is used, flow pattern control is possible. Without aforementioned flow pattern, control is very “loose” and relies on “visual” feed back by the operator. At this point, we should examine how this valv